japan

[Update: Siliconera reports that you will be able to switch between 2D and 3D diplays art any time. Thanks Omnes Morimur!]
We already knew that the 3DS version of Dragon Quest XI allows players to explore in 2D sprites and 3...

What with Dark Souls 3 coming out early 2016 and us entering the end of the year, I've forgotten that Bloodborne just came out a few months ago. Its expansion, information on which is promised for this year, could help bolste...

Chie insists that saving people in danger is her thing. I'd contend that dancing is her thing. She sure does a lot of dancing and not a lot of saving people in this trailer. Well, unless handing out unsolicited motivational ...

Pachinko is pretty popular in Japan, as it is used mostly as a form of gambling, and now it is about to have a new Castlevania-themed machine that somehow features "erotic violence." Yeah... gross. I'm all for scantily-clad ...

Hold on a sec: Wouldn't a Resident Evil game called Umbrella Corpse be the most exciting thing to happen to the series since Resident Evil 4? You can have that one for free, Capcom. (Kidding, pay me.)
Capcom has trademarked "...

Following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011, Disaster Report 4 was delayed and then cancelled. A natural disaster survival series set in Japan was on obvious sore subject at the time, though it m...

Nintendo has sold over 10m Wii U consoles since its launch in November 2012.
In today's financial report, Nintendo confirmed that while the 470,000 unit sales in April-June 2015 were lower than anticipated, it still (just abo...

I'm now lost in a rabbit hole of cool-looking cover plates for the New Nintendo 3DS.
It all started with the Mario design above. It's thought to be one of the rarer cover plates out there, and for good reason -- it's availabl...

Jul 25 //
Obscure Video GamesGameplay is the least interesting thing here. The real star is the bizarre, ridiculous storyline. You and your friend C.A. pick up a hitchhiker as you're driving through the desert one day. You stop for lunch, and the Mafia accidentally hits the three of you with a bomb full of a nerve gas called "Tacklmacain." C.A. gets kidnapped by a mysterious stranger. You find out that the gas is slowly killing you, and you have to find the antidote. The restaurant owner turns out to be working undercover for the CIA and offers to help get you the antidote in exchange for your sniping skills.
It gets weirder, but I won't ruin the rest. If you want some more info (and spoilers), watch this video:
[embed]295876:59482:0[/embed]
The game isn't very long -- only about 12 stages -- but there is a branching storyline as well as challenge missions that give you some replay. But again, the sniping part is just not that fun, so even if you hit an ending, you'll probably be fine missing the rest.

Hit or miss?The Sniper 2 is not a good game. In fact, it's pretty much the epitome of "kusoge." But that's what makes it so entertaining. Terrible voice acting, mediocre graphics, and an incomprehensible story are what kept me playing al...

4Gamer has gotten their hands on the latest Media Create sales figures in Japan, and they have some interesting results. For starters, Yo-Kai Watch Busters (on 3DS, which has two versions) outsold Arkham Knight roughly four t...

Fire Emblem Fates, which is not coming to the United States until 2016, has been out in Japan for a while and is being supported with DLC. Today marks the start of a month's worth of free maps, one of which includes character...

I love Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. It is filthy with ghosts and adorable little touches (physics fun, Luigi's whistling to the score). It even has some great multiplayer (and inspired the second best Nintendo Land minigame)....

I'm always down for photo modes. Still, adding a photo quests feature that tasks you with snapping pictures for rewards, in a port of a game that looked a little bit better in 2004? (For reference, it is now 2015)
Well, ok. ...

"Project Setsuna," an "all-new console project" that's in development from a brand new studio called Tokyo RPG Factory, was a footnote at Square Enix's E3 press conference. Project name, concept art, studio. That's all we kne...

Yo-Kai Watch Busters, unsurprisingly, was the top-selling game in Japan the other week, notching over 693,000 physical sales in its debut, according to the latest data from Media Create.
The Nintendo 3DS exclusive is the late...

Brutal Blaziken was introduced yesterday to the Namco-developed fighter Pokkén Tournament, so the weed-loving fan favorite is in, but perhaps some 'mons less suited for 1-on-1 combat can still make an appearance?
Fenne...

Shouzou Kaga was last involved in the Fire Emblem series in 1999 announced in May he was working on a new turn-based strategy RPG that would be released for free when it is finished. This isn't some mobile turn, but maybe tem...

Compile Heart's middling Fairy Fencer F is getting an enhanced version as part of a jump from PS3 to PS4 this November in Japan. It adds characters, story paths, and ups the party size to six, as you can see above in the wrig...

Visit this webpage (screen capture above). Ok, we're on the same level.
Vanillaware most recently did an HD version of Muramasa for Vita in 2013 and also developed Dragon's Crown, which Atlus published (in Japan and North Ame...

Oh my god, that poor Pikachu!
Following word of Blaziken's upcoming arrival in Pokken Tournament in Japanese arcades, Bandai Namco has a trailer of the fiery bipedal chicken kicking the crap out of its fellow Pokémon.
I feel bad for them, which has traditionally not been the case for any of the core series games.

As we await the full lineup for Pokken Tournament, I can rest easy knowing that my boy Gengar is in. Gardevoir, too. The latest character announcement isn't so much a reveal as a reiteration.
Long before we knew the Pok&eacut...

We've covered Seaman frequently throughout the years on Destructoid with overflowing hearts. And it's under tragic circumstances that we get confirmation: Seaman 3DS was a planned project that fell through.
Original Seaman developer Yoot Saito wrote a blog post, translated over at Neogaf, reflecting on his relationship with the late Satoru Iwata.

Over the weekend at Japanese independent games festival BitSummit, PixelJunk Eden composer Baiyon announced a new project, Muse: Together is the New Alone, his directorial debut.
The title, which draws inspiration from '...

Jul 12 //
Kyle MacGregor
BitSummit takes place at Miyako Messe, located in Kyoto's museum district.
Thousands of people attend annually. Here, the crowds pour into the show day one.
[Image: Indie Megabooth]
Koji Igarashi, Inti Creates CEO Takuya Aizu, and Keiji Inafune among a star-studded panel lineup.
[Image: Shuhei Yoshida]
Kyoto's mascot Mayumaro poses with D4 director Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro and Playism staff.
[Image: Kyoto Prefecture PR]
Pixeljunk Eden composer Baiyon performs for a live crowd.
[Image: James Mielke]
Western-developed projects Octodad and Fez on display at the PlayStation booth.
[Image: Shuhei Yoshida]
Any Japanese video game expo worth its salt has at least a samurai or two.
[Image: Inside Games]
Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Lumines, Rez, Space Channel 5) and Kazutoshi Iida (Doshin the Giant).
[Image: James Mielke]
Please remember to take your shoes off before entering the Unity game space.
[Image: Playism]
Mayumaro finds Chulip and Little King's Story director Yoshiro Kimura's new crew Onion Games.
[Image: Kyoto Prefecture PR]
More crowds!
[Image: James Mielke]
Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida with La-Mulana 2 designer Takumi Naramura.
[Image: Shuhei Yoshida]
BitSummit founder James Mielke enjoying the show with his daughter.
[Image: James Mielke]
***
P.S. This past week, Yatagarasu Attack on Catacylsm, a doujin fighting game developed by a trio of former King of Fighters veterans, launched on Steam. If you're interested in checking out some of the latest and greatest indie games from Japan, this would be a good place to start.

Snapshots from KyotoDoujin Dojo is a weekly column dedicated to spotlighting independent games from Japan and the people that make them.
This weekend, Kyoto played host to BitSummit, Japan's top independent games festival. Now in its third year,...

If you ever wanted to see what Splatoon would look like in real life, look no further than Ren Tong's YouTube channel. He created a real rendition of the game's Inkzooka, as well as a Splat Bomb grenade.
You c...

Nintendo is no stranger to marketing directly to women, and in Japan, it's holding a special event that's basically one giant marketing campaign. It's called the Nintendo Girls Museum, and will be held at the Aeon Mall M...

To the surprise of no one, Microsoft is skipping out on spending thousands to make an appearance at TGS (Tokyo Game Show) -- taking place from September 17 to September 20 this year.
Speaking to Famitsu (translated by Gematsu...

Also slams Ubisoft-style designKeiji Inafune isn't one to pull punches. In recent years, the Mega Man co-creator has become one of the most outspoken critics of the Japanese video game industry, making remarks like "Japan is over."
Recalling those "bold st...

Less than a year after its release, Kinoko Collection, a smartphone game centered around a conflict between anthropomorphized mushrooms and bamboo shoots has been taken offline.
Following the title's launch in December, ...

[Editor's note: Following Destructoid's coverage of some questionable dialogue found in the Japanese version of Fire Emblem Fates, community member Ckarasu has delved deeper into the translation and offers his own take on the...